Vitrocine
by rhapsodybree
Summary: Spying on spies. A short standalone oneshot.


Disclaimer: I own nothing, and only borrowed the characters for a little while.

* * *

Vitrocine Ranier stepped into a room full of bustling people.

Taking stock of the room arrangement, the long table down the middle of the room with chairs on either side, the spy immediately assessed which chair would give her the best vantage point, able to see people coming and going, with minimal chance of someone walking up behind her.

Taking a seat, she arranged her robe precisely. Looking up as people around her began to move to sit as well, she noticed a young girl who seemed out of place.

She was standing in an alcove on the other side of the room. Dressed in a grey skirt and white top, she had an apricot scarf wrapped around her neck. Vitrocine noticed that everyone greeted her, but she never made to move to the table.

The maid perhaps?

As the people began to clear and her line of sight improved, she realised why the girl – woman she would probably be though – was remaining standing. She was wearing a baby pouch, and in her arms was a baby.

Watching her rocking slightly from side-to-side, she honed her vision.

The legs of the child that protruded put the baby's age at approximately three to four months of age. Her sight veered to the right and spotted a ring – emerald and ruby – shining on the ring finger.

So she was married.

The woman remained standing as the Head rose and called attention for the meeting to begin, his wand raised at his throat for amplification. As the table settled, Vitrocine noticed a spare seat three chairs down from her, not far from the head. _Looked like someone was late. _

Keeping half an eye on the table, she inclined her head stiffly when introduced by the man that was Dumbledore. Some of the congregation eyed her warily, others nodded politely, whilst others yet again just looked at her in wide-eyed surprise.

She maintained her controlled expression, only half her attention there, and so when Dumbledore continued to speak on other matters, her honed hearing heard the arrival of another.

Her eyes shifted to the left and she was prepared for when the door slid open slightly and a tall man decked from head to toe in black, a scowl on his face, appeared. Sensing the power and authority he carried, even through his ambivalence, Vitrocine knew that this was the man missing from three chairs down.

She was surprised when he didn't make to move there instantly. Instead he paused. And of all the people he looked at, it was the woman in the corner, her arms crossed over her chest as she rocked the babe in her arms.

She spotted the discrete nod between the two and wondered at the nature of the relationship as he took his seat.

Her questions were answered when, the meeting complete, and being her usual prickly self by declining small talk, her eyes watched the man rise, also ignoring attempts for his attention. She had thought the relationship more of an illicit kind, but watching the way he crossed the room – and no one stopped him – she adjusted her evaluation.

This was the march of a man with rights.

She could see he was a reserved man (though she had enough personal experience of the type to know that this may not be true in the bedroom) and his first actions proved it as a he placed a hand low on the young woman's back.

The female was more open in her response, turning her face up with a smile. Lipreading, she saw her words. "Hey Seb." _Or was it Seth?_ Neither seemed quite right. The next words – accompanied by actions – were easily identifiable.

"Take her for me."

It was always nice watching a couple in sync with each other – having seen plenty of examples of not in her days. The man didn't reply, just unclipped the side strap and covered his wife's hands as the front fell.

The contraption off to the side, a small form was eased free, both sets of hands working to place the child at the male's shoulder. The child immediately buried her nose into her father's neck as he placed a large hand on her back. The woman did one last check before she moved swiftly from the room.

As she watched the man remain standing, carefully cradling the babe, she mused that she was looking forward to the background checks on these three.

Her ears pricked up on the voice of a worried woman next. "Where did Hermione go?"

Without missing a beat, Vitrocine turned. "She went to the toilet."

Moving away, she smiled slightly at the muttering that followed her. "How did she know that?"

She answered inwardly. _Muggle or not, it's what I do. _

Sensing she was being watched, she raised her eyes instantly to the source. The same man she'd been watching minutes before raised his eyebrow in her direction. She rose to his challenge, raising one of her own.

That seemed to satisfy him as he then turned, and the last sight Vitrocine had was of a little fluff of brown hair.

* * *

_Finito._


End file.
